Louis II, king of Naples

Louis II, 1377–1417, king of Naples (1384–1417), duke of Anjou, count of Provence, son and successor of Louis I of Naples. In 1389 the antipope Clement VII (Robert of Geneva) invested him with the kingdom, Lancelot, rival claimant of Naples, having been expelled in 1386. Louis took possession of Naples in 1390, but he was ousted in turn by Lancelot in 1399. In 1409, Louis liberated Rome from Lancelot's occupation; in 1410, as an ally of the antipope John XXIII (see Cossa, Baldassare), he attacked Lancelot and defeated him at Roccasecca (1411). Eventually Louis lost his Neapolitan support and had to retire. His claim to Naples passed to his son, Louis III.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

See more Encyclopedia articles on: Italian History: Biographies